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I pinky promise you are going to fall head over heels for this homespun Tennessee beauty. When the bride is an art teacher, and the groom and his family are big music fans, the wedding is definitely going to be sweet and happy, no doubt about it. And judging by Jennie Andrews Photography‘s view, the wedding was all that and then some. It was a beautiful day which has packed our gallery full of meaningful details!

I come from a family of artists. My Grandfather is a wood turner, my dad is a painter, my mom used to make a living by making crafts and selling them at craft shows, my older sister, Ashley, is a graphic designer/advertising major, my younger sister Kendel has her degree in Interior Design, Kendel’s husband Daniel is an Architect. The list goes on and on… As for my self, I have my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education. I love all mediums of art. I have made wedding cakes, painted murals, studied jewelry in Italy, taught High School Art for 5 years… Art is a HUGE part in my life. It is just in my DNA to make and create! So when Lucas proposed to me I knew this would be a perfect time for me and my family to put our crafty/artsy skills to use! Planing the wedding was a total blast. Everyday was a different project…. I would come up with something to make for the wedding and have it finished by the end of the day. For example, one day I made all of the guys boutonnieres made from old fabric, buttons, feathers, and burlap I found in all of my craft supplies. Another day I decided to make flower vases from all of my soup cans I had in my recycling bin. One of my favorite parts about the wedding planning was I had my sisters and my mom making all of the different projects with me. We had sooo much fun!

Lucas is one of 4 children in my family. He have a really strong relationship with them and they mean the world to him. They have lived all over the country as well as Canada. One of the biggest common interest that pulls his family together is music. Growing up they were always singing together in the car or at his parents church. Some of his biggest passions are filmmaking and writing music.

Lucas and I met three years ago just two days shy from our wedding day. We met while I was working at the Cafe4 in Knoxville, TN. I was a hostess for the Cafe and Lucas was filming a commercial for the Cafe. Lucas had no idea where anything was located in the restaurant so I was the lucky girl that got to show him around. He just happened to come at the perfect time when the Cafe was in between lunch and dinner so I had some down time to talk to the new artsy cute guy. We had a 15 minute conversation that turned into getting coffee a few days later. We then started to hang out all the time and realized how much we had in common. It wasn’t long before we made it official and started our story together.

It was Christmas Eve and Lucas was headed to his home town in New York. We had decided to spend Christmas with our own families and I would catch a plane to New York to spend New Years with his family. Everything was going as planed. Lucas took off early that morning and I was spending the day with my family. My family had a big dinner at my uncles house and it was pretty late when we got back to my parents house. It is tradition for all of my sisters to stay the night at my parents house Christmas Eve night and wake up for Santa!

When we got back to my parents house it was around 11:30 pm. Just about the same time as we got back to my parent’s house Lucas called to tell me his plane was delayed and he was stuck in the airport for a few more hours. I started telling him about my big family dinner and how much fun I had when he interrupted me to tell me to go get my Christmas present out of my car. I was very confused because I didn’t see anything in my car that looked like a gift… Lucas told me that a few days before he had put my Christmas gift under my driver seat in my car. I started to get excited thinking about what my gift was! I started out the front door of my parents house and saw a car in the culdesac that looked just like Lucas’. I even said something like, ” hey there is someone in the neighborhood who has the same car as you… weird!” Lucas acted like he didn’t catch what I was saying so I said it again, “There is a red HHR in front of my parents house”. I started to walk down the dark sidewalk to see this silhouette of a man walking towards me. I also could hear a Lucas’ voice doubled with a delay. This is when I realized Lucas was not in New York he was in TENNESSEE with ME! I hung up the phone and ran over to him and was freaking out saying, “what are you doing here” and “why are you not in New York?” I was in total shock!

Lucas didn’t answer any of my questions just told me to come with him… I couldn’t stop worrying about my family… I was afraid that they would be worried about me because I ran out the door in the middle of the night and didn’t come back. I kept asking Lucas to let me call my family and let them know I am ok and I am with him… He kept saying, “no, don’t worry about it”. Well the next 20 minutes I was full of questions of, “what are we doing, where are we going, why aren’t you in New York?” I was a mess. I had no idea what was about to happen. Well Lucas dove me to the Cafe4 which is the place where we first met and had a first date. I then realize what was happening and started to get really excited! Lucas said all of the sweet things that he loved about me and got on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him….. WELL of course I said YESSSS!!! We kissed and hugged and laughed then kissed some more. We were like two giddy kids as we drove back to my parents house to tell them the great news! My family greeted us at the front door with hugs and kisses. They knew the whole time what Lucas was up to. It was such a beautiful surprise!

Lucas and I both have worked in the wedding industry with him being a videographer and me with the wedding cakes. We both are tireed of the same ole, same ole and wanted to have a unique, personal touch to our wedding. One thing we did that was different was the unity tree. Rather then doing a unity candle or the unity sand we planted a tree together. Lucas’ dad made a planter for our tree to be planted in. Both of our parents started the planting by putting in starter dirt and then Lucas and I put the tree in the planter and filled the rest of the planter with dirt. My sisters had super cute watering cans and watered the tree. And while all of the tree planting was going on Lucas’ three sisters where singing one of our favorite songs, “Beautiful Things” by Gungor. It was one of my favorite parts of the ceremony! I don’t think there was a dry eye in the party!

One of my favorite moments of the wedding day was getting to drive way in our get-away car. My uncle let us borrow his convertible Prosche. Lucas and I only borrowed the car long enough to do a “fake get-away” and then return it. But during out 20 minute drive we blasted the music and drove down town singing to songs on the radio.

Well… Let me just say that our photographer Jennie Andrews, was incredible .I haven’t picked out a favorite photo just yet but I would say the whole process of taking the photos was one of my favorite parts of the day, it was so much fun and enjoyable. I could not have pick a better photographer! She made the process so much fun! Honestly, she made me feel like the most beautiful bride and photogenic person she had ever met. She was complementary and encouraging. Sometimes people can look so stressed out in wedding pictures but I was having such a blast that the emotions were true and genuine. A lot of that has to do with how great it was to work with Jennie!

My dad made the wedding favors. My dad is a painter and for the wedding favor he painted a landscape of the Knoxville Botanical Garden. He made it look like a French Impressionist Painting from the 1800s. He personalized the painting to include some of my favorite painters such and Monet and Dega. He also included my cat and Lucas’ dog in the bottom right corner of the painting. It was incredible! All of the guest got a signed print of the painting.